10 things you probably didn't know about Penn Badgley

You might recognize Penn Badgley from his iconic role on "Gossip Girl."
Bryan Bedder/Getty Images

Penn Badgley currently stars in "You" but he was previously in series like "Gossip Girl" and movies like "John Tucker Must Die."

Badgley graduated high school when he just was 13 years old.

He's in the band MOTHXR and they've performed around the world.

You might know him best as Dan Humphrey on "Gossip Girl," but Penn Badgley is back with a new role in the frighteningly good TV series "You." This time around, Badgley's given up is wannabe cool-kid persona in favor of a terrifyingly clever stalker who is seeking affection from his current obsession. Without giving away too many spoilers, it's safe to say this is one of Badgley's most thrilling roles yet.

Before you tune in to his latest series on Netflix, here are 10 things you might not have known about Penn Badgley.

1/

He's in a band.

The band's first album debuted in 2016.
David Wolff - Patrick / Contributor

He once dated his co-star, Blake Lively.

The two dated during the filming of "Gossip Girl."
Bryan Bedder/Getty Images

Although he's now married to musician Domino Kirke, Badgley once dated his former co-star Blake Lively. According to Elle, The two secretly dated for almost three years while filming "Gossip Girl." Reportedly, no one on set knew the two had broken up in real life until the season two finale of the series.

Before he was in "Gossip Girl" he was in "John Tucker Must Die."

He played Scott.
Twentieth Century Fox

Badgley had a pretty successful career prior to his appearance on "Gossip Girl." With roles on several TV series and films, including "The Young and the Restless" and "Easy A," it's safe to say Badgley has had quite a bit of experience playing a student.

But before he played the famous Brooklynite Dan Humphrey, Badgley appeared in the teen movie "John Tucker Must Die" as Scott, AKA "the other Tucker."

Badgley was conflicted about playing Joe in "You."

But he said the creators thought he'd be great for the role because of how important it was for viewers to understand Joe's humanity.

"To be honest, in the beginning of the process, I had no interest in humanizing [Joe]. Like, please, spare us," he added. "But then I realized the only thing you can do as an actor is bring a character to life, and all that that means."

His name has a unique origin.

According to GQ, when Badgley was just a blimp on a sonogram, his dad was nervously squeezing a tennis ball— and the brand of the ball was Penn. Badgley, therefore, is named after a brand of tennis balls, not the state of Pennsylvania, as some people might assume.

7/

He did voiceover work for Nintendo.

He voiced characters in two Mario video games.
Nintendo

Not everyone can say they started their career at Nintendo. Some of Badgley's first work included voicing over characters in Nintendo's Mario video game series, including "Mario Golf" and "Mario Tennis."

8/

His childhood crush was Parker Posey.

Parker Posey was in the movie "Lost in Space."
Wikimedia, CC

According to Intelligencer, in an old interview in Seventeen, Badgley revealed his childhood crush was actress Parker Posey, who, like Badgley, hails from Maryland.

9/

He graduated from high school when he was 13.

He got accepted into college but did not attend.
Ron Galella/WireImage

"I graduated when I was 13," he told the Mirror. "It was really just to avoid the on-set tutor thing. I was taking community college courses when I wasn't working so I'd spend six months working and six months going to school, on and off."

He added that he was accepted to the University of Southern California but has yet to attend.

"I was frustrated and I was broke and I was depressed, and I was like, 'I cannot do that again. I can't,'" he told Vulture. He accepted the role in "Gossip Girl" just as he was about to accept a job as a waiter.